Serving the community

An extended period of dry weather meant we could access the stile on the Milwich boundary above Fox’s Wood. Whilst not the highest point in Milwich parish, it is not far away at about 165 metres above sea level (about 550 feet). This meant driving past Green Lea School to the top of Mill Lane and then continuing across the fields. Great views can be had from up there! The team consisted of Peter, Richard, Paul and, for the last time, Keith. The day started warm and overcast but the sun eventually appeared.

The stile, and as it transpired, the fence post and adjacent gate post were being held up by the wire fence. Once this was removed, the whole lot collapsed as they were rotten at ground level.

We have no idea what this metal object is but is not Medieval!

We envisaged hard digging because of the dry conditions but we were thwarted by the base of two old telegraph posts and a large lump of metal, none of which could we possibly have removed. Therefore positioning of the new posts, including a new gate post had to be carefully worked out to miss these obstacles; as a result, a degree of additional digging proved necessary! We redesigned the whole job a couple of times as new issues appeared.

Peter, Keith and Richard proving the new stile is solid!

Eventually we got the basis of the stile and dog gate in place; time for a coffee break before digging the holes for the stile steps and refixing the sheep netting to the new stile.

In the end, everything came together well and the finished job looked more than acceptable. All that remained was to screw the dog gate in place and attach the way markers.

We then returned to The Green Man to wish Keith all the best over a couple of beers as he is relocating to Yorkshire. We will miss him on future jobs!

Lower step supported on the stile as it was impossible to find a place for more holes!